Tupac murder: Prosecutors say new evidence places ‘Keffe D’ in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Prosecutors disclosed more evidence Thursday that they say implicates Duane “Keffe D” Davis in the 1996 murder of rapper Tupac Shakur.

Davis, 61, is accused of orchestrating the murder. He has remained in custody on $750,000 bail since his September arrest. Last month, a judge denied releasing Davis after another man posted his bond, saying she was concerned the bond was a de facto contract for future interviews.

Davis has publicly said he was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car, which pulled up side-by-side to Shakur’s before the shooting near the Las Vegas Strip. Marion “Suge” Knight, the then-head of Death Row Records, was driving the car with Shakur in the passenger seat. Knight was injured in the shooting.

In the hours before the murder, Shakur’s group reportedly attacked Orlando Anderson, a member of a rival gang and Davis’ nephew. Davis, Anderson and two other men were in the shooter’s car, Davis has publicly claimed, and prosecutors said.

Davis’ attorney, Carl Arnold, previously told the 8 News Now Investigators that his client was lying when making public statements about Shakur’s murder and that Davis should not be trusted.

In new evidence revealed in documents filed Thursday, prosecutors said they confirmed Davis’ wife made a hotel reservation in her name at the time of the shooting. Previously, lawyers for Davis said there was no evidence placing him in the valley.

As part of the Los Angeles Police Department’s investigation into the death of Christopher “The Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace, officials offered Davis a proffer, which Davis believed gave him immunity in the Las Vegas case. In 2009, Davis became a confidential informant for a task force created to investigate Wallace’s death, prosecutors said.

“[Davis] denied any involvement in that murder, however, volunteered his knowledge about the murder of Tupac Shakur,” documents said. “Thereafter, on Dec. 18, 2008, he provided a recorded version of events similar to his other re-countings of the murder, all of which was consistent with the known evidence from the early investigation.”

Davis also provided an LVMPD homicide detective a statement in 2009, prosecutors said, where he “attempted to elude responsibility for the murder of Shakur.” During the interview, Davis admitted to being in Las Vegas at the time of the Tyson fight, prosecutors said.

During the interview, Davis also told the detective about how he secured a firearm he said his nephew used to shoot Knight and Shakur, documents said.

Las Vegas Metro police arrested Davis on Sept. 29, 2023, near his Henderson home. The day before, a grand jury indicted him on a charge of murder with a deadly weapon with a gang enhancement.

Davis’ trial was scheduled to begin in November. A judge will hear arguments next week to determine once again if Davis should be released on house arrest pending trial.

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